First-inning struggles continue to plague Mets' Mike Pelfrey

Getty ImagesIn his last six starts, Mets starter Mike Pelfrey has given up 27 earned runs.

NEW YORK – The feeling is still there for Mike Pelfrey.

The dominance, the velocity, the control he felt during his 10-2 start comes back to him every game.

But now, it’s three innings to late.

It’s taking him longer to regain that composure, which makes the first inning of each game daunting. A built-in setback he deals with each time he steps onto the mound in the second.

“I think it’s definitely concerning,” Pelfrey said. “Usually when I go out there the first inning is important, it kind of sets the tempo up for the whole game and you know I definitely haven’t been doing my job in the first inning, I’ve been giving up a lot of runs.”

It’s been nothing short of a paradox for the Mets starter this season. More than 28 percent of his earned runs have come before he’s registered three outs. He has a 6.86 ERA in 21 first innings this season, giving up 21 percent of his season hit total and 29 percent of his home runs.

“I think we’re talking about a young pitcher still,” Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. “The bumps in the road seem to be a little bit tougher for him to get through at times.”

Coaches have tried adjusting his pregame routine, throwing more pitches in the bullpen before starts. Pelfrey insists he throws more pitches before a game than any other starter, but nothing seems to work. In essence, he’s starting anew and trying to clear his head every inning, which could be the reason for some of his recent struggles. In total, Pelfrey has pitched 25.1 innings, giving up 54 hits, 28 runs and 14 walks in his last six starts. He has not registered a win in July.

On Friday, it took Pelfrey eight innings and 40 pitches to get through the first. He forced Diamondbacks rightfielder Justin Upton into an 0-2 count before tossing a flurry of low-90s sinkers out of the strike zone, eventually resulting in a seven-pitch walk.

The next batter, Adam LaRoche worked Pelfrey into a full count, baiting the pitcher to go back to his fastball in order to try and find the strike zone, which LaRoche ripped to left. Pelfrey said the first-inning struggles cause him to be a little timid with the way he throws.

“He’s trying to be to fine, to perfect with his pitches,” catcher Henry Blanco said. “That’s why I think he’s throwing a lot of balls…earlier in the season he wasn’t trying to be too fine like he is right now, and that’s why I think he’s getting down in the count.”

Manuel noticed that as the game went on, and Pelfrey re-discovered his rhythm, the velocity of his pitches went up. His fastball, for example, went from 89-92 mph in the first inning to a more consistent 93 mph in the fourth.

That’s when the starter begins to feel more comfortable. Begins to feel like he did in March and April – a 4-0 start with a crisp 0.69 ERA, just two earned runs. The feeling is still there, that’s what’s important. But that may change, too, if he can’t find a way out of the first.

“From the start of the fourth, things started to turn around,” Pelfrey said. “They almost started clicking again. I just gotta find a way to get that from the very first pitch and let it carry on.”